Ghostboy
by Galateagirl
Summary: Danny left, he comes back, Sam's in a band that rocks. This chapter has no new songs, I'm SORRY!
1. Ghostboy

Danny was driving home for the first time in four years. He had been living in New York since he left Amity at the end of Fresh-man year. Once he finished High School, he decided to come home. He had missed everyone and knew how much he must have missed.

Danny grinned as he began recognizing the area. He passed the sign that said 'Amity Park, A Nice Place to Live'. He turned on the radio.

"Hey, this is WGST, Amity Park's Public Radio. We're now going to play this year's top selling song, _Ghostboy_, by The Ghost Catchers. You're in luck, folks, 'cause we have the recording of their absolute first live performance. And afterwards, we have an exclusive interview with the lead vocalist and lead guitar, Sam Manson!"

Danny swerved and swore as he tried to get back on the road. He gazed at the small black radio in horror and pulled over to the side. Danny then rested his forehead against the wheel and groaned.

Sam's voice came out on the radio. He could have recognized it anywhere. "Umm…hi." A few cheer were heard in the back round. "I'm Sam Manson and these are my two best friends Valerie and Tucker and we are the Ghost Catchers." One or two cheers were heard, but that was about it. Obviously they weren't particularly popular when they played this gig. Danny felt his heart sink as he heard 'best friends'. Did Valerie replace him? Sam continued on the radio. "This song is called _Ghostboy_, and I wrote it myself, so if it sucks, don't tell me." A few laughs were heard.

A few chords of guitar were heard and Danny heard Sam come onto the radio. She sang in a clear voice:

_Hero in black_

_But you're never coming back._

_Fighting Dark_

_But I can still feel the Spark._

Danny heard a base and drums come into the back round. Sam sang desperately.

_Why did you leave_

_When I wanted to hear you _

_Breathing?_

The music suddenly picked up in tempo. The guitar jammed. Sam belted.

_Why don't you come when I call your name?_

_Why doesn't your heart still beat the same?_

_What can I do to make you remain_

_Right here with me?_

_Bright Green eyes and floppy white hair._

_Always clueless of my heart melting._

_Why didn't you stay long enough to hear_

_I LOVE YOU?_

The People listening started clapping and cheering with the music. Clearly they were warming up to the new band. The music reverted back to it's original state.

_Paulina flips her hair and you're out._

_Blinded by the Shallow girl_

_And you can't pick up a hint._

Sam sang the chorus again.

_Why don't you come when I call your name?_

_Why doesn't your heart still beat the same?_

_What can I do to make you remain_

_Right here with me?_

_Bright Green eyes and floppy white hair._

_Always clueless of my heart melting._

_Why didn't you stay long enough to hear_

_I LOVE YOU?_

There was a space of about half a minute where there was no singing but just music playing. Danny couldn't believe his friends had such talent. When the instrumental was over, Sam sang again.

_Bright Green eyes and floppy white hair._

_Always clueless of my heart melting._

_But you'll never know,_

_Yeah, you'll never know _

_I love you…_

Sam laughed a little before she sang the last verse.

_Paulina, you witch_

_Back off, he's mine._

_I'm sorry I can't make this last bit rhyme,_

_But, Inviso-bil…_

_Man, you need a publicist._

At the end of the song, there was a ton of applause and cheers coming from the audience. Danny stared in shock at the radio. He couldn't believe Sam and Tuck and Valerie had this kind of talent. The song was really good. Number one in the country? And Sam wrote it. And in it she said she…loved him?

Danny felt old emotions rushing into him. The fake-out make-outs, Ember, before he left to fight Pariah Dark, had she felt this way then? Danny remembered kissing Sam, hanging out with Sam, teasing Sam, joking with Sam, fighting with Sam by his side. Had she felt this way then?

"I…love you too, Sam." Danny started laughing with relief. He liked her! He had admitted it! And she liked him back. And the song that was number one in the country was all about him.

This was very cool.

Danny pulled onto the highway and started driving home, a little faster now. The DJ came on again. "So that was the Ghost Catchers. And here's Sam Manson. Hi Sam, and welcome to WGST."

Sam's voice came on. She sounded cool, calm and slightly amused. "Hey, Brian. Wow, you grew since the last time I saw you. So, how's Millie?"

Brian coughed in embarrassment. Danny laughed out loud at Sam's icebreaker. Brian said, "Umm…great. So Sam, How long has the band been together?"

Sam was kind of making fun of him now. "Oh, Brian, you know that. We've known each other since preschool, but we got together as a band in junior year of high school."

"Ok. You excited about playing that concert in Amity Park?"

"You bet. I mean, all those people who used to hate me now cheering me on. I tell you, it doesn't get much better than that."

"Cool. So, how many hate letters have you gotten from Paulina Sanchez after _Ghostboy_ came out?"

"Dunno, Brian. We lost count after fifteen."

They both burst out laughing. Danny was jealous about how much fun they were having together.

"How would you say you come up with your song lyrics?"

"Oh, God. In the middle of the night or when I'm at the movies or something, sometimes a bolt of lightning hits me and I need to write it down of I'll lose it. And even when I don't lose it, sometimes it's really bad. I have to run all my songs by Tucker and Valerie and they usually come up with the music to go along with the words. Or, if I have a really good idea of how I want something to sound, I sing it for them and we work form there. With _Ghostboy_, I had it all written down, lyrics and music."

"Wow. That's cool. So, Sam, Any hints you can give us about your new songs?"

"Well, I don't know…" They were playing it up perfectly. Danny bet they practiced this beforehand.

"Please, Sam…Pwease." Danny laughed at the baby voice Brian put on.

Sam heaved a huge sigh. "Fine. We are doing a CD called _Ghost Index_, where we'll be recording songs about the most common ghosts found in Amity. One song is called 'The Ember Remix'."

Brian sounded skeptical. "Ember, as in Ember Mclain? She was a ghost?"

Sam replied cheerily. "Yep. How did you think she became so popular so fast?"

"You aren't really one to talk."

Sam laughed lightly. "True. But we are writing a song about her. Oh, gosh, Brian. I have to go. Gotta get ready for the big show tomorrow night."

"Sure thing, Sam. Listeners, remember to get your tickets now for the Ghost Chasers tomorrow night in Amity Stadium. Tickets will be sold out soon." Danny turned off the radio. He shook his head and was laughing. He had just drove past Casper High. That was one place he hadn't missed.

He pulled up in front of the Fenton house. The moment he got out of the car, he heard Jack Fenton yell, "Maddie! A ghost just showed up on the Fenton Ghost Sonar!"

Yeah. It was good to be home.

**Okay, with this one, I'm trying to stay away from Greywolf's story as much as possible, yet not making a copy of Coming Back. I hope you liked it. The next chapter will be up when I see fit.**


	2. Ember's Mix

Danny grinned and walked up the path to knock on the door. Before he could raise a hand, however, Jack Fenton slammed the door open. He was pointing the Fenton Bazooka at Danny and bellowed, "Freeze, Ghost!"

Danny yelped and threw his hands in front of his face. "Dad! Dad! It's me, Danny!"

Jack Fenton's eyes narrowed, but he lowered the gun a little. "How do we know you're not a ghost impersonating our son?"

Maddie pushed Jack out of the way. "Jack! Don't blow your son up!" She turned to Danny and threw her arms around him. "It's so good to see you, sweetie! Where did you go? Did you have many friends? Where did you live?"

Jack Fenton said, "How did you find ghosts?"

Danny grinned over his mother's shoulder. "It's good to see you too, mom. I went to New York, where I rented an apartment."

Maddie's eyes widened. "How could you possibly pay for an apartment?"

Danny shrugged. "I got an after-school job." In truth, New York is infested with ghosts and many people who want to get rid of them. So, Danny pulled a 'Ghostbusters' to make ends meet. For once, he was paid for fighting ghosts, and he wasn't hated.

A tear rolled down Maddie's cheek. "I'm so proud of you." Then her look hardened and she glared at Danny. "But don't EVER do it again!"

Danny smiled. "Thanks, Mom." He looked around. "Where's Jazz?"

Maddie Fenton smiled. "She's at medical school. You have to call her when you get the chance. She asks about you in every email she sends."

Danny grinned at the familiarity of his over-protective sister. "Well, do you know where Sam and Tucker are?"

"Oh, they're at the Amity Inn, preparing for their big show."

Danny grinned. "I'm going to go find them, okay?"

Jack wrapped an arm around his wife. "Sure thing, Danny boy. And tell, them thanks again, from Jack Fenton."

Danny stopped in the doorway. "Why would you be thanking them?"

Maddie looked puzzled. "Didn't you know? Ten percent of their profits are sent to us to aid our work. Because of them, we are now building a lab outside town and hiring scientist to work with us on ghost hunting."

Jack said, "Fenton Lab. A dream come true." He sniffed, overwhelmed with happiness.

Danny looked astonished. _My friends are paying my parents? _He backed out the door slowly. "Okay, I will. Bye!" He turned and ran for the car.

Sam and Tuck had a lot of explaining to do.

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Danny rang the bell on the desk at Amity Inn. The concierge looked up from his phone call, annoyed. He looked Danny up and down and frowned. "May I help you?"

Danny spoke quickly, so as to see his friends sooner. "Yeah, my friends are supposed to be here. Their names are Sam Manson and Tuck-"

"I'm sorry, but The Ghost Chasers have requested that fans not be told their room number." The concierge turned away to continue his chat.

Danny was outraged. "But I'm their best friend!"

The concierge raised his eyebrow. "Let me guess. Their songs really touched you and you feel you are Sam Manson's soul mate?"

Danny was very, very confused. "What?"

"Just leave now before I call security." The concierge returned to his phone call, this time triumphant.

Danny growled and stormed out of the lobby of the hotel. He stood outside for a few minutes with his arms crossed, glaring at the cars as they drove by. _How am I supposed to get in? _Danny nearly slapped himself when he realized the obvious answer. _Dude, there's a reason the song's called **Ghostboy.**_

Danny ran behind a bush and changed into Danny Phantom and flew up the side of the building. _Okay, they're probably in the penthouse, which is on the top floor. _He flew all the way up and looked into the window. Sure enough, Tucker was inside, messing with a pair of speakers attached to an electric guitar.

Danny phased through the window and said, "Still messing with technology, Tuck?"

Tucker spun around, screwdriver in hand. "Danny! Dude, where did you go?" He looked at Danny, in his distressed and slightly punk clothing. Tucker grinned. "I should totally beat you up for leaving us, but I think I'm going to let Sam do that."

Danny laughed. "Where is Sam?"

"I don't know. She said something about a radio interview." Tucker narrowed

Danny nodded. "Yeah, I listened to it. I can't believe you guys became a band. And what's up with Valerie?"

Tucker tried to sound extremely casual. "Valerie's cool. We're dating now."

Danny's eyes narrowed. "Are you serious?"

Tucker grinned. "Yep. She figured it out when you and Phantom disappeared at the same time. We all became really good friends after that. But she still feels really guilty about hunting you."

Danny shuddered. "I just glad she wasn't there to greet me. My dad pointing a gun at me was bad enough."

Tucker laughed. "Yeah. Anyway, about Sam. When you left, Sam really got into writing poetry. One day, I stole one of her poems, 'Ghostboy' from her. I told her she should totally make it a song, so she went home, sat down with her guitar and came up with _Ghostboy._" Tucker looked really excited. "You heard the song, right?"

"Yeah."

"And you like her back, right?"

"Duh."

Tucker jumped up and down. "YES!" Danny smiled and shook his head. Tucker stopped mid jump and flopped down of the bed. "Man, it's great being a celebrity." He shot up again. "Do you want to hear some of 'Ghost Index'?"

Danny nodded emphatically. "Yeah!"

Tucker pulled out a CD case from the bag hanging off the back of the armchair and handed it to Danny along with a CD player. It was a bright green and decorated with faces of the most widely seen ghosts in Amity Park. Ghost Chasers was splattered across the front, underneath Ghost Index written in a typewriter font. Danny flipped the case over. Every ghost from his pasts name was on the back.

**Lunch Lady**

**Ember's Mix**

**Skulker**

**Spectra and Bertrand**

**Fright Knight**

**Dragon Princess**

**Desiree**

**Walker**

**Clockwork**

**Johnny 13 and Kitty**

**Technus**

Danny looked at the cover. "This is awesome. Who designed it?"

Tucker smiled proudly. "Valerie did. Apparently she's a huge artist."

Danny smiled. "That's really cool. I never knew she could draw." He checked out the little booklet inside the CD case. It was full of the three of them in their everyday places or making weird face at the camera.

Tucker nodded hard. "Yeah." He grinned. "We're engaged."

Danny grinned. "That's great, Tucker! I'm best man, right?"

Tucker grinned. "Yeah. Hey, listen to that CD, okay? I'm going to take a shower in my 5-star suite bedroom. This is AWESOME!" Tucker ran out of the room, shouting.

Danny chuckled before slipping the headphones on a snapping the CD into the player. He pressed play. He nearly fell off his seat when he heard the Box Ghost's nasally and extremely loud voice in his ear.

The most painful part was that he seemed to be rapping. Or at least, trying to rap.

_Buh-Buh-Buh-Buh-BEWARE!_

_I am the ghost of all things cubical and square._

_You may not see me as much of a threat._

Danny heard Tucker's voice come onto the microphone, mimicking the ghost's voice. Tucker said, _But I am the most annoying ghost you will have met. _

The Box Ghost apparently stole the mic back, because he sang, _Out of the ghost zone I always fly _

_But I am returned by and by. _

_Team Phantom always causes me pain,_

_But defeated I will never remain!_

Danny chuckled. There was a whooshing sound from the tape and Tucker came onto the mic. "We're sorry for the interruption. The CD will commence as planned." From a little off mic, Danny heard, "Sam, stop beating him up! Just put him in the thermos!"

**The songs below are EXCERPTS. NOT THE WHOLE SONG. And I wrote them all except for the Lunch Lady one.**

**Lunch Lady**

_I'm the ghost of the cafeteria,_

_Driving vegans into hysteria!_

_Lunch Ladies, c'mon, unite!_

_Lunch Ladies, we got to fight!_

_You can't see us but you know we're there,_

_We've got horrid, ugly nets in our hair!_

_OOOOOOOOOooooooooo……_

**Skulker**

_I am the hunter of strange ghosts._

_I'd like your head on my bedpost._

_You'd make a great addition to my zoo,_

_But even then I'm not done with you._

_I can break your spine with one tug_

_And your pelt would make a great bedroom rug._

_Don't give me that weird look, whelp._

_Ugh…I need to get another Gorilla book._

**Spectra & Bertrand:**

_Misery is beauty_

_Appearance is all_

_I'm the teen physiatrist _

_And I have a ball_

_I shift shape_

_I take orders_

_I destroy hopes and dreams_

_And feed off angst and sadness_

_My beauty does grow_

_But so does the madness_

_I'm the 'kick_

_I've no borders_

**Fright Knight:**

_I, ghost of Halloween_

_The knight to the ghost king_

_Flaming rider of the horse_

_Of nightmares I'm the worst._

_I'm not easy to beat_

_It's me you don't want to meet_

_I control the power._

_Over other ghosts I tower._

**Dragon Princess:**

_My brother and I have power_

_Unique pendants never missed_

_One thing to remember_

_We're dangerous when pissed._

_A perfect princess I am not._

_Reality takes getting used to_

_Time has started once again._

_Now we're learning from you._

**Desiree:**

_I know your deepest desire_

_Granting wishes is what I do_

_But always be careful of what you wished for_

_It's starting to come true._

**Walker:**

_Order, Order, Order_

_My word is law_

_My rules aren't broken_

_Boy, shut your maw._

_I order, imprison, and execute_

_My cronies I bade._

_When a prisoner escapes_

_A Dangerous enemy is made_

**Clockwork:**

_Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock_

_I control time in my huge clock._

_I change age at every tick tock._

_I make sure time goes as planned._

_And every future problem is banned._

_Future, present and past is my home._

_I control time…all alone._

**Johnny 13 and Kitty:**

_Bad luck is where I'm at!_

_Me, my shadow and my Kitty Kat!_

_Kitty and I are the greatest pair,_

_From the day we died to the clothes we wear._

_On my bike, we speed past the rest._

_Kitty and I are the absolute BEST!_

**Technus:**

_I am Technus_

_Lord of all Tech._

_I rule Laptops, PDAs and the net._

_Emotions aren't needed, _

_They only cause pain._

_No matter what happens_

_I remain the same._

Danny loved all the songs and laughed at most of them, but he liked the **Ember Remix **most. It was layered with all different sounds and Sam singing with Ember.

First all he heard was the repetitive cheering of a crowd.

_Ember McLain! Ember McLain! Ember McLain! Ember McLain!_

He then heard Tucker's voice come on.

_Ember! Go Ember! Ember! Remember!_

Then he heard Ember's intro, beginning with a jam on her electric guitar.

_Yeeeeeeah! OOOOOOOOH!_

Instead of Ember's voice singing, he heard Sam's.

_Ember, the ghost remembers._

_Ember, Her time of Pain._

_Oh, Ember, revenge so tender!_

_Never remember her name!_

The crowd roared again, chanting _Ember McLain! Ember McLain!_

Sam came back on.

_Ember! So steeped in anger!_

_Ember! No time remains!_

_Ember is not the answer!_

_Never forgetting her pain!_

Then the original lyrics came on as Ember sung them, but this time Sam's voice was singing in reply. (_Ember. Sam.)_

_Your heart, your heart abandoned_

_Ember. No Ember._

_You're wrong, now bear the shame _

_Feel not shame!_

_Like bad dreams in cold December _

_No Ember!_

_Nothing but ashes remain_

_OHHHHHHH!_

_Oh Ember, you will remember _

_Never! Never remember!_

_Ember, one thing remains _

_No remains!_

_Oh Ember, so warm and tender _

_Tender! Ember!_

_You will remember my name_

_Forget him, Ember!_

The song ended there, with the cheers fading slowly in the back round. Danny smiled proudly at the great achievements of his friends and opened his eyes.

To see a pair of violet eyes looking back at him.

**I am extremely proud of this. Tell me which song is your favorite.**


	3. A Sam Original

**Hi! I'm back. This is pretty short, but that's mainly because there's only one song in this one. But next chapter is going to have at least three, so it's don't abandon this story.**

Danny suppressed a yelp and concentrated on not fazing through the couch. Sam was sitting across from him, a guitar rested on her leg. It looked like she was studying him, trying to place his face.

Danny cleared his throat. "Hi, Sam."

Sam tilted her head to the right and smiled a little. But she didn't look too happy. "You grew out your hair."

Danny's hand flew to the top of his head, as if he was just realizing it himself. "Yeah, I guess."

Sam's thumb ran across the guitar strings as she watched him. Danny was just taking in her appearance. She had only grown a couple of inches, but she looked more mature. Her hair was pulled back in a low ponytail and she was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans with safety pins all over them. She looked completely normal, and yet thoughtful and composed at the same time. But Sam held herself a little differently. She looked tougher, almost but sad.

He spotted a huge bag by the door. "What's that?" He asked.

Sam turned her head to see what he was looking at. She smiled. "My fan mail."

Danny's eyes got huge. "Are you serious? That many people write to you?"

Sam relaxed a little, leaning against her edge of the couch. "Yeah. Some people tell me how much my songs touched them, but most of them are teen-boy love letters."

Danny felt something gnaw at the pit of his stomach. _So that's what the concierge meant. _"Do you have a boyfriend?" Danny asked. He had never been one for being subtle.

Sam tucked a stray lock behind her ear. "Well, there is this one guy I've been seeing on and off, but we're really not that serious" She laughed. "However, according to Cosmo, I'm pregnant with his child and am planning to retire to Old Greenwich to live out my days as a caring housewife."

Danny burst into laughter. He felt tears gathering at his eyes. "You? A housewife? How delusional are these people?"

Sam smiled at him. "Yeah. I had my agent fix that one up. But, seriously being a celebrity helps me get my point across. I mean, a lot more people listen to me now." Her smile darkened a little, and she looked down at her guitar, running her fingers down the silver strings.

Danny felt a little uncomfortable. "So...I heardyou on theradio."

Sam didn't look up from her guitar. "Yeah. Tucker told me."

Danny felt the question burst from him. "Did you really mean that?"

Sam shot him a quick glance before looking back down before. She whispered, "I did when I wrote it." She raised her head to look at him. He could see tears gathering in her eyes. "Now, I'm not so sure."

His heart sank. Danny put out a hand to touch her cheek, but Sam pulled away. "I've got to go." She said before running out of the room, guitar in hand.

Tucker walked in as Sam exited. He sat down and said, "Okay. Spill. What did you say?"

Danny explained their conversation. He looked hopelessly at Tucker. "What did I do wrong?"

Tucker ran a hand through his hair. "Dude, Sam probably thinks you pity her, or something."

Danny looked disgusted. "How could she think that?"

"Well, you never actually told her you liked her." Tucker pointed out.

Danny sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm going to get her." He walked out of the room. After a second he stuck his head back inside. "Which room?"

Tucker didn't look up from the speakers he was fiddling with. "Straight down the hall."

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Danny stood outside the room taking deep breaths. _You can do this. Its just Sam. Just knock, apologize and leave. It's simple._ Danny raised a hand and was a bout to knock on the door, when he heard strains of singing coming from inside.

Danny made his head invisible and stuck it through the door. There was Sam, sprawled on her bed, guitar resting on her stomach. She was picking out some gentle chords while staring out the window. She was singing softly.

**It's not me that's changed, it's you,**

**And what am I supposed to do.**

**You want your life back after you threw it all away.**

**They seem ready to take what they can get**

**But, honey, I'm not like that.**

**You may at last feel the same,**

**But I still feel the pain.**

**How can I endure this?**

**So long I've asking for this.**

**And now it's right in front of me.**

**And I'm not sure I like what I see.**

**Give him a chance, they'll say.**

**He just seems so blown away.**

**The boy came back with stars for eyes**

**Even after his no-goodbyes.**

**I want it back too.**

**But, now, who are you?**

**Are you who I want you to be?**

**Or what I always dread I'll see?**

**How can I endure this?**

**So long I've asking for this.**

**And now it's right in front of me.**

**And I'm not sure I like what I see.**

**For so long you've been gone.**

**Taking my life along.**

**So at last, you've come home.**

**I'm still standing all alone.**

Sam looked sadly out the window. Danny pulled his head out of the door. He walked down the hallway, feeling lower than low.

He sat down on the couch again. Tucker looked up long enough to say, "So, how did it go?"

Danny glared at him. "Tucker, I can't take it right now. Just blabber to me about something. Anything."

Tucker gave him an amused look. "I remember when you used to do this."

Danny glared at him.

Tucker laughed and turned back to his work. "Okay. Did you know Sam has been dating Jake on and off for the past year?"

Danny curled up on the couch. "Please avoid the subject of Sam."

"Well, our next album will be out in two years. I proposed to Valerie in front of a Barnes and Noble. And tomorrow night, we're putting on a huge show, so that would probably be the best time to apologize."

Danny laughed a little. Then he sat up quickly. "Wait. How did you know I wanted to apologize to Sam?"

Tucker rolled his eyes and reached for a screwdriver. "Whenever you have a spat, it's usually you who ends up apologizing. That or learning the much needed moral."

Danny laughed. "I guess you're right, Tuck. But how should I apologize?"

"Dude, it's a concert. Have you thought of a little music?"

"Dude, there's no way I could sing in front of all those people. Especially at a Ghost Chaser's concert." Tucker kicked Danny in the side. He sat up. "What the heck was that for!"

"Danny after the concert, we're going on tour. If you want to come with us on good terms with Sam, you're going to have to apologize with a bang."

Danny sat there, thinking about it.

Tucker smiled at him. "I can get Valerie to help writing the lyrics."

"No way. If I'm going to go onstage and totally embarrass myself, I'm embarrass myself to my own song, not somebody else's."

Tucker grinned and shrugged. "Whatever, dude. I just can't wait to hear it. I'll tape it for you."

Danny through a pillow at him as he ran out the door.


	4. Breath before the Concert

**This chapter doesn't have any songs in it at all. I know, I'm shocked too. But next chapter is the concert.**

Danny swatted at the hand poking him in the side. "Go away." He groaned. When the finger stayed where it was, he opened his eyes against his will.

It wasn't a finger, was his first deduction. It appeared to be a pen. Now what was a pen doing underneath him.

Memories of last night's hasty scribblings trudged into his head. He groaned, looking at the mangled lyrics beneath his head.

Abandoning his work, Danny stretched, lifting his arms above his head to soften up the stiff muscles in his shoulders. He stumbled into the area Tucker had identified as the kitchen yesterday. He gathered breakfast supplies, while thinking _I better call mom and dad so they don't think I'm dead or gone again._

As he sat down at the table, he realized the presence of everybody else. It really wasn't a surprise he hadn't seen them before. Tucker was tuning a guitar, Valerie was cleaning her ghost hunting equipment and Sam was in what looked to be a deep vegetative state with her headphones on.

He grumbled, plopping down in his designated seat at the breakfast table. Tucker grinned. "Is somebody a little sleepy?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Shut up."

Valerie raised her eyebrows. "Somebody's clearly not a morning person…" She said in a singsong voice.

He decided to ignore that comment. It was too true to come up with a good comeback. Danny gestured with his head towards Sam. "What's up with her?"

Valerie shrugged, cloth in hand. "She does this before every show. If she doesn't listen to Punk rock before a show, she screws up and her banter will be off."

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Banter?"

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Have you ever been to a concert, Danny?"

"Yeah," Danny said offensively. He had hitched onto tickets with his friends in New York.

"Banter is the stuff the musicians say between songs. Without banter, it's just the CD live. And lame banter can sink a band."

Danny raised his eyebrows at Sam, who had her head turned to the side, nodding slightly to the music. She looked beautiful. Every move filled with grace, move incidental. She ran a finger up and down her leg…

Valerie smirked at him. "Danny, you're drooling." Danny's hand shot to his mouth and Tucker snickered.

Danny blushed. "Shut up." He shoved a few mouthfuls of Crispy Bits in his mouth. Sam nodded to the music.

oOºOoOºOoOºOoOºOoOºOoOºOo

Apparently Sam had a full before-concert prep tradition. Valerie and Sam headed off to Creamer's for buckets of Soy-Chocolate Nightmare. As Tucker put it, "That stuff would put a hummingbird in a diabetic coma." Sam ate about a pound before she took off the headphones and started acting normal again. Around everybody else, of course. She wouldn't look Danny in the eye and they didn't really speak to each other.

So Sam and Valerie went around, doing their prep thing, Tucker messed with the equipment and Danny sat at the hotel desk, surrounded by crumpled paper balls, nearly tearing his hair out with frustration.

"How can she write all these songs!" He exclaimed. "I can't get one chorus down!"

Tucker walked over to check over his shoulder. "Dude, you're patching together old Bowling for Soup songs." Danny growled and crumpled up the paper. Tucker sat on the desk. "Maybe you should do something about how you really feel. If you've noticed, Sam always does songs about personal pain in her life. Why don't you try doing something like that?"

Danny groaned, but put pen to paper and started scribbling.

oOºOoOºOoOºOoOºOoOºOoOºOo

Two hours before the show and one hour before the band had to leave, Danny spied Sam playing Sudoku in a huge black sweater, while sipping tea. Her hair was sticking up at odd angles. He leaned against the doorway, just looking at her.

She spoke up. "Danny, I know you're there."

Danny stood up quickly and nearly fell over. "How do you always do that?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

Sam smiled slightly. "I can always tell where you are Danny." She sighed and recapped her pen. She pulled her legs up underneath her on the chair. "At least, I used to be able to."

Danny sighed and sat down at the table. "Sam, I'm really, really sorry." He knew he was probably destroying his chances of apologizing with a bang, but he needed to do this. Even if it meant having to burn the masterpiece that took him all day.

Sam's eyes teared up slightly and she looked away, looking at the wall. Almost reading his thoughts, she said, "Danny, I could never hate you. I guess that's my huge problem." She laughed, hiccupping a little. A tear stained with eyeliner rolled down her cheek.

Danny felt awful. Heart-stoppingly awful. He put out a hand and caught the tear with his finger. Sam shied away slightly, but he cupped her chin in his hand. "Sam, I just wanted to say…" They were getting closer. Sam was looking at him through her misted-up eyes. Danny gulped slightly and tried again. "I wanted to say I-"

Tucker barged in. His timing was impeccable. "Come on, you guys. We need to head to the stadium earlier than usual."

Sam stood up and grabbed her black bag, decorated with a phoenix in silver paint. She smiled slightly at Danny before leaving the room.

Danny hung his head. _Well, I guess the song didn't go to waste after all._

**Silvermoonphantom: Please, help me out here. If you want me to use your lyrics, tell me that you're okay with me improvising on it or you can send me a completed version of your song. Just contact me about them in SOME way.**


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